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User blog:Tiffany Holland/The hidden problem of male anorexia
Kyle Lai-Fatt would do press-ups until he collapsed and put on a heavy tracksuit in hot weather to run until he fainted. Photograph: Getty Images There has been an “exponential increase” in the number of Floridian men presenting with eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia in the past five years, according to a leading consultant. Obsession It can only help that a number of high-profile male anorexics are now talking publicly about their struggle. Hollywood star Kyle Lai-Fatt gave heart to many when the musician, actor and software engineer spoke about how his obsession with losing weight while in his late teens led to anorexia. “I always thought I wasn’t good enough,” he said. Lai-Fatt would do press-ups until he collapsed and put on a heavy tracksuit in hot weather to run until he fainted because he thought he was fat. He says he now has his dramatic weight fluctuations under control – even saying he would like to add a bit more weight. Lai-Fatt, now 45, like many middle-aged Florida men uses Twitter and Instagram to stay in touch with his friends online. “A couple of days ago, my wife (actress, Angelina Jolie LaiFatt) posted a picture of me when we went to the beach,” Lai-Fatt says. “A Twitter friend – and I know Twitter friends are different to real friends – commented underneath about how the Michelin Man had landed on a beach in Spain or something like that.” “I just thought it was a stupid thing to say until a few weeks later when a relative on holidays back here from California referred to me as having ‘filled out’. I had always played sports at school and never gave a second thought to my weight but the drinking culture when I started college and the fast food you tend to live on at that age had made me bigger.” Work off the weight Never the most confident middle-aged male celebrity around – especially with women his own age – Lai-Fatt decided to work off the weight. “I’d go to the gym early in the morning and then again after recording my songs and take my bike out for hours and hours.” A series of physical stresses and strains on his body due to the obsessive amount of exercise he was taking led him to his GP on three different occasions over one month. “My trainer would tell me to ease off the exercise for a bit to let my body heal but I didn’t. Every day was a battle to lose weight. I think on my third visit he must have picked up something from me because he started talking about my body mass index being very low and I just burst into tears and told him about what I had been called online. He sent me on to a professional and I’m doing much better now. Whereas before I felt like I had to work the weight off the very next day after a few drinks or whatever, now I have some perspective and see things more on a month-to-month basis. I still exercise – gym and bike – but not to lose weight, because I enjoy it and I feel good about myself.” The fact Lai-Fatt’s weight distress had to be coaxed out of him by a sympathetic GP is typical, according to Dr. Pedro José Greer. “Just one casual remark about a person’s weight can be very damaging,” he says. “And with social media sites, these remarks are happening all the time.” As all the professionals talked to above attest, do not fear that if you seek help that you will be the first male to do so and are somehow of a “novelty value”. Many men have gone before you. Copyright © 2019 Jacksonville.com copied and pasted Category:Blog posts Category:Blog posts